Alison Riske One Qualifying Match From Main Draw

She'd Become Only Second American In Field

NEW HAVEN — — At the start of play on Friday, five American women were in the qualifying field at the New Haven Open at Yale. By the time play concluded for that day, that number had been cut to two.

Twenty-four hours later, only one American qualifier had made it through the first two qualifying rounds: 23-year-old Alison Riske, who stayed alive by defeating Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2.

So much for a home-field advantage.

"It was definitely hard-fought, and I was lucky to get through it and live to see another day," Riske said.

This is Riske's second appearance at the New Haven Open. Her first came in 2011, when she lost in the first qualifying round. She did not participate last year because it interfered with U.S. Open qualifying rounds.

This year, Riske's victory puts her one win away from qualifying for the main draw at New Haven, which she, like many others, hopes to use as a final warm-up before the U.S. Open begins a week from Monday.

"Every time I go out there, I try to work on something," Riske said. "It's been definitely a couple of hard battles, and not necessarily great tennis from me, but I've been fighting as much as I can."

Riske, of Pittsburgh, may not yet be a household name, but she has some familiarity with playing on big stages, as she is coming off a surprise appearance in the third round at Wimbledon just two months ago.

"I've just been playing as best I can. It's been great since Wimbledon; obviously it was a great experience," Riske said. "To get into that main draw in a Grand Slam was huge for me. It was kind of like a monkey off my back."

New Haven has not been all that different from Wimbledon for Riske and the American women. There were only four American women in the third round in London, including Riske, and only two of them moved on from there.

"That is kind of strange, because we have so many players now who are doing so well," Riske said of being one of two remaining American players in the tournament, " … but some [players] want to take the break right before the U.S. Open, and some want to play."

Many players, especially many American players, like to rest this week in order to prepare for the U.S. Open. Riske does not worry about feeling fatigued from this tournament, however.

"I would definitely want to play, I feel like the more matches, the better," Riske said. "It keeps you in the competitive mode, and I think that's great leading up to the U.S. Open.

"I mean at this point, if we're not fit enough, I don't know what we're going to do," Riske added, laughing.

Riske will look to join Sloane Stephens, a 20-year-old from Florida who was awarded a wild card entry into the New Haven Open, as the only Americans in the remaining field of 32. Riske first has to get past Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium to earn one of six qualifier positions.

Stephens will play in Monday's day session against a qualifer to be determined. The Monday night session will feature four-time champion Caroline Wozniacki against Peng Shuai and defending champion Petra Kvitova against Urszula Radwanska. Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki opens the main draw Sunday, facing Kristina Mladenovic at 2 p.m.